coaches top 25 pre-season 2002 rankings

[dougm]

princeton lost quite a bit whereas syracuse returns the entire team albeit liam banks might not be back due to grades. towson lost their goalie and berry, who kept other teams honest, so unless coach seamen tones down the bandit-ball style, they'll lose more than they expect. virginia got philly area's johnny christmas, considered the top recruit, and i think will leaprfog up the ladder. maryland will be fun to watch, new coach dave cottle won't tolerate losing to teams that umd has no right losing to. hofstra is wiped out by graduation - how do you replace a guy who did everything like shanahan - so they could even slip further. notre dame is alot like towson, lost glaztell & the goalie, but their recruiting capabilities will be tested. i'll throw a bone to ra's penn state, other than untested in goalie, they are young & improving. and the penn quakers will shock the coaches, ther new coach from navy loves defense and i can see upenn playing ugly lacrosse but it will be winning lacrosse.
this whole poll is useless because we all know that my drexel dragons will win it all as super-soph mark williamson leads the ncaa in goals!


2002 Division I Top 25 Preseason Coaches Poll



( ) - First place votes
1. Princeton (32) 917
2. Syracuse (12) 893
3. Johns Hopkins (1) 754
4. Towson (1) 751
5. Virginia 678
6. Maryland 652
7. Georgetown 621
8. Loyola 587
9. Duke 572
10. Hofstra 471
11. Notre Dame 456
12. Umass 455
13. North Carolina 385
14. Navy 341
15. Cornell 209
16. Penn State 161
17. Brown 150
18. UMBC 145
19. Bucknell 133
20. Army 92
21. Delaware 87
22. Ohio State 52
23. Hobart 46
24. Rutgers 44
25. Harvard 30


Others receiving votes: Penn 23; Denver 20; Butler 15; Yale 14; Fairfield 11; Villanova 9; Stony Brook 7; Hartford 5; Quinnipiac 1.

[dougm]

well it looks like some scribe thought the same as i did concerning notre dame, it looks like they might be a contender still but i think this year will be a learning process.

<<*December 21, 2001
Scholarships give Notre Dame lacrosse strong class
By Mike Connolly The Observer
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (U-WIRE) -- When men's lacrosse coach Kevin Corrigan started at Notre Dame 13 years ago, he went into every recruits' house dragging two huge stones behind him. He was limited in who he could recruit by two things -- he didn't have any scholarship aid to offer and Notre Dame wasn't an established lacrosse power with a chance to succeed in the NCAA Tournament.

"We evaluated right from the beginning and said that if money is going to be a huge issue for a kid, we can't get involved because we will just be wasting out time," Corrigan said about recruiting without scholarships. "We knew at the end of the day he would choose somewhere else no matter how much he loved Notre Dame."

Nine NCAA Tournament appearances in his first 12 seasons established Notre Dame as an established winner in lacrosse and lightened the load of one stone. A Final Four appearance in his 13th season completely removed the first stone.

"We've been kind of progressing in the area of kids we could recruit," Corrigan said. "As we've gotten into the tournament consistently, then into the Top 15, then the Top 10 and getting some wins in the tournament and then getting to the Final Four, there really is no kid out there who doesn't give us a thought in terms of, `That's a place where I can get a great education and compete for a championship.'"

Then athletic director Kevin White announced that men's lacrosse would receive about three scholarships per year for four years until it had the NCAA maximum 12.6 scholarships.

Suddenly Corrigan had access to any lacrosse player who could qualify academically. Doors that were barred to his recruiting pitch were now open as he signed seven high school seniors as Notre Dame's first scholarship class in lacrosse on Nov. 15.

"We felt like there were kids we could get involved with that we never though we could in the past," Corrigan said. "In the past we always had to sort out two things real early -- their grades and their financial situation. This year we only had to worry about grades. A kid who might have some need actually in some ways we became more attractive to him."

The scholarship money gave Notre Dame more than just the ability to lessen the cost of a Notre Dame education -- it also was a clear sign that Notre Dame was committed to winning a championship. Although Corrigan entered every season with the goal of winning the championships, recruits didn't believe his rhetoric without the financial commitment to back it up.

"We would say that we wanted to win a championship and that was our goal but some kids would look at it and say there is not a real commitment by the school to winning the championship because they don't have the scholarship money," Corrigan said. "Now that isn't something we have to convince people of. That commitment of dollars says to people that they want to win a championship and compete at the highest level."

The money for scholarships was actually first available last year but Corrigan did not use it to recruit the current freshman class. The money was available too late in the recruiting process for it to make a difference. Corrigan had six scholarships available for the Class of 2006 but chose to use only three of them among seven recruits. He will have three more available for the Class of 2007 and will have the full 12.6 when he recruits the Class of 2008.

"We are more conscious of not giving out too much right now and leaving ourselves in three years where we have to bring in 10-12 guys on one scholarship," Corrigan said.

Unlike basketball or football, almost nobody receives a full ride in lacrosse. Corrigan broke up the three scholarships to aide the seven signed players in attending Notre Dame.

The seven players signed by Corrigan -- the first class to receive grants-in-aid from Notre Dame to play men's lacrosse -- are Brian Hubschmann, Matt Karweck, Steve Panos, Drew Peters, Matt Ryan, Brandon Schulteis and Pat Walsh. All seven recruits play either attack or midfield but Corrigan said he is not ignoring the defense and goalie. Two defensemen and a goalie have committed to Notre Dame but will not receive scholarship money. They will enroll with the academic class of 2006. NCAA rules prohibit Notre Dame from releasing their names until they are accepted.

Walsh and Peters are the two players that Corrigan anticipates will make an immediate impact in 2003. Walsh, an All-American, and Peters are both tremendous athletes. In addition to their lacrosse skills, they are finalists for the Thorpe Award which is given to the top football player on Long Island. Despite their skills in two sports, Corrigan doesn't expect either of them to follow Chad DeBolt's lead and walk on the football team.

"I sure hope they aren't thinking about that," he said.

Even though he now has scholarships to give out and the legitimacy that comes with a Final Four appearance, Corrigan says he isn't changing his approach or his goals. He still wants to be the best.

"The resources and support of a school may change how much success you have but it doesn't change your goal," he said. "I just want us to be as good as we can possibly be."

(C) 2001 The Observer via U-WIRE. >>

[phillywings6]

I hope the hens look like they did a few years ago. The last season with Grant. Since then:(

[Go Hopkins]

Phillywings6, unfortunately Shillinglaw has his work cut out for him this year. positive note middie Metzbower will be back and goalie Dave Mullen, they lost Jason Levy and Jason Motta to graduation. They start their schedule off with Loyola, they play Hofstra, Villanova,Towson,Denver, Maryland, Rutgers . most of the team is really young, maybe they will have a really good year down the road.

[ColsLax]

Good to see Ohio State on the list. Any sort of positive lacrosse action in C-bus is a good thing (whether it be field or box). I know that when the Blue Jackets came to town, the Buckeye hockey team got a lot more recognition. Hopefully the Bucks do well, and and Landsharks are helped by the increased lax interest.